Better Late
by Kyogre
Summary: Complete. In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.
1. Endgame, part 1

/ / / / /

**Title:** Better Late

**Summary:** In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.

/ / / / /

LOCATION UNKNOWN  
DATE UNKNOWN

His first instinct was to go home.

Although Wally loved the place he shared with Artemis in Palo Alto, there was no denying that "home" was still his parents' house, still Central City.

It was that same instinct that made him finally slow down as he approached his destination. Wally couldn't even remember how long he had been running. It seemed somehow much further than it should have been just coming down from the Arctic. He couldn't remember leaving the frozen wasteland either. His path to the outskirts of Central was a blur, and Wally wondered why his uncle hadn't stopped him earlier or come with him, or anything.

At first, as he entered the city, Wally wondered if he had gotten lost after all. He was usually able to unerringly orient himself on cross-country or cross-continental runs, but he had been barely able to tell up from down after… whatever had happened with the Reach's doomsday weapon.

The city, maybe Central, maybe not, looked completely different - wrong. Some of the buildings looked almost familiar, but Wally was hard-pressed to say he recognized his hometown.

"Uh, excuse me!" he called out to a passing older couple. They, and every other person in the vicinity, had been staring at him since he had dropped from his sprint into the realm of normal sight, slowed to a jog and finally stopped altogether.

The couple were looking at him with ill-disguised nervousness. Definitely not the reception he was used to as Kid Flash, or any superhero at all.

Something was wrong.

"This is Central City, isn't it?" Wally asked, his voice trailing off uncertainly.

The older man's eyes narrowed. He squared his shoulders and asked gruffly, "Why do you want to know?" His wife gripped his arm tightly, fear beginning to appear in her eyes.

"I'm just… looking for my family," Wally answered, bemused. Something was really wrong.

"We don't have anyone like you here," the man said, still strangely hostile.

The woman, however, looked more sympathetic and a little more at ease, now that it seemed like Wally wouldn't attack them (like he would!). "Are you… like that Superman fellow, from Metropolis?" she asked, and it took him a moment to realize that she was asking if he also fought crime.

"Uh, kinda," Wally answered. A small part of his mind noted that at least they knew about Superman. The rest of him was too busy feeling queasy. "Yeah, I'm a superhero."

They clearly didn't know the term. But that was weird too. Sure, Superman was the first, but others followed not long after.

His eyes darted around the street, the buildings, the people, trying to make sense of what was going on, what was out of place. He couldn't put his finger on it. Something…

There. His gaze stopped on a metal box, selling newspapers. Without thinking, he sped over to it and crouched down to peer at the front of the paper on sale. Behind him, the couple jumped in surprise as he disappeared from their sight, only to reappear elsewhere. They backed away nervously and hurried away.

Wally was too stunned to notice.

The Central City Chronicle's latest issue, displayed in front of him, was for August 20. It had been June 20, when they had faced off against the Reach's final plan. 'What happened to July?' Wally wondered, but only for a moment.

In the next instance, he noticed something far more stunning.

August 20… 1999.

/ / / / /

CENTRAL-KEYSTONE AREA  
AUGUST 20, 1999

He was in the past.

Wally rubbed his eyes tiredly. It sounded ludicrous. But, well, it wasn't impossible. Few things were, for a superhero. He even thought he'd heard this sort of thing happen to a couple heroes. And hadn't Bart traveled back in time?

But Bart had used a time machine. How exactly did being hit by the escaping kinetic energy of a world-destabilizing doomsday device send you back in time? Seventeen years, no less. (Well, sixteen years and ten months.)

How was he going to get back? Wally wondered. Bart had ended up stuck in the past, and he had at least understood what he was doing. Would Wally have to take the long way back, waiting seventeen years to be reunited with everyone?

What other choice did he have? Wally considered himself smart, a genius of sorts, but space-time continuum things really weren't a field he knew anything about. And who could he ask for help? There was Superman, he supposed. The civilian couple had mentioned him. But there was no League, not for another four years.

There was no Flash.

Barry had only begun his career in 2000. He had replicated the experiment to gain the Flash's powers late 1999. He had probably not even met Jay Garrick and learned how to conduct the experiment yet…

Jay Garrick. Wally stopped suddenly, feeling almost thunderstruck. Of course! Uncle Barry might not be the Flash, but that didn't mean there was no Flash. Mr. Garrick could help him!

There were plenty of flaws in that plan, but Wally didn't pause to consider them before he sped off. Jay probably wouldn't be living in the house he and Joan occupied in Wally's time, but he only needed to reach Lampert, the company the first Flash had worked for in his youth and which had continued strong even into Wally's time. Even if Jay had already retired, they would know where to find him.

It wasn't until he reached Keystone that Wally began to feel as if something was far more wrong that he had realized. Even more than Central, Keystone looked utterly alien. Worse, it looked… desolate.

There were entire swaths of the city that had been destroyed in what looked like a super-powered battle, a one-sided one at that. Or maybe several, judging by the different types of damage. Wally had seen the signs before, a hazard of living in a world of people with great powers and technology. But… these were old. Some looked as if it had been many years, and there was little if any repair work done.

It was also as if the city had just… given up on fixing itself. That wasn't right, not in Central, not in Keystone. The Flash would never let things get that bad, even if he was semi-retired.

Wally's stomach dropped away as he finally reached his destination. The tall spire of Lampert's renovated home office was gone. An entirely different building stood in its place. Even as Wally dashed across the city, hoping that he'd simply gotten turned around, he knew he wouldn't find the building that should have been there. The lab wasn't there. The Garricks' house wasn't there. The house his family should have lived in was occupied by people he'd never met.

This wasn't the past. Not his past anyway.

At least the library was still where it had been when he'd visited it so often as a kid. It was even, amazingly the same building, if in a slightly different color. However, the answers Wally found among the archives were the opposite of comforting.

There was no Flash. There never had been one.

There had been a man named Jay Garrick once. He had become a rather renowned scientist, publishing many scientific papers. He had, in fact, gotten a very lucrative position away from Keystone, his hometown, decades ago.

There had also been someone named Barry Allen. His name Wally found on a list of victims from a vicious supervillain attack on Central City.

In Wally's timeline - in his world - that disaster had been stopped by the Flash. It had been the source of Barry's admiration for the Flash. Here… there was no Flash. No one to protect Keystone or Central.

No one for Wally to turn to.

In this world, he was alone.

/ / / /

Notes: For those wondering, there is a rhyme and reason to the dates. According to the best sources I could find, the DCAU Justice League was formed in 2001. Also, it seems the world it inhabits is Earth-12, compared to YJ's Earth-16.

JLU wasn't all that heavy on continuity, so I'll be fudging some details. Please ignore that JLU Flash refers to having a "Grannie Flash", a mother, and an uncle, those last two being alive and capable of visiting. Also, the ages of everyone on Earth-12 are completely made up.

/ / / /


	2. Endgame, part 2

/ / / / /

**Title:** Better Late

**Summary:** In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.

/ / / / /

CENTRAL CITY  
AUGUST 21, 1999

Shell-shocked, Wally had barely been able to find some place to curl up and all but pass out into deep, thankfully dreamless sleep. When he woke the next day, he didn't feel any less adrift and uncertain, but at least he had some basic goals to work toward.

Namely, finding some food and civilian clothing.

Wally was a hero, but his moral compass wasn't so rigid that he couldn't justify a bit of petty theft, at least to himself. Frankly, being lost in what appeared to be a parallel dimension qualified as extenuating circumstances as far as he was concerned. So, he only shrugged a bit before grabbing some pants and shirt that some poor soul had hung out to dry.

The food was a bit tougher, if only because he needed so much of it. He hadn't felt hungry the day before, despite performing what must have been the greatest running feat of his hero-ing career. If anything, he had felt too energetic, also hyperactive.

That rush had since faded away, leaving Wally absolutely starving.

He ultimately resorted to taking just a little from each of the many, many barbeques and picnics going on in Central City's parks.

Munching on the last stolen hotdog, Wally watched a family play some kind of homebrew ballgame together. It involved at least three different balls and didn't seem to have any particular rules, except maybe running around, tackling each other and laughing a lot.

Family…

His parents would already be married, Wally thought, if they existed anyway. They had been high school sweethearts and got married very young. It had just taken them years to have a child. Wally himself would have already been born, four years ago. If he even existed in this dimension.

His parents were completely ordinary people. They couldn't help him, even if they believed some weirdo who showed up on their doorstep and announced he was their son from another dimension. But…

He still wanted to see them.

Swallowing the last bite of his hotdog, Wally stood up. He was already a petty criminal, so why not break into some non-public records while he was at it?

/ / / /

BLUE VALLEY  
AUGUST 21, 1999

It hadn't taken Wally long to find Rudolph and Mary West. Oddly enough, they lived in Blue Valley, a suburb of Keystone that Wally had never even been to.

Their house was nice, but too small to Wally's eyes. It wouldn't have been able to handle a family reunion that included three speedsters. Not that it needed to, in this dimension.

Almost as if hypnotized, Wally drifted closer to the house. Dad - no, Rudolph West - was at work, holding the same sort of job he did in Wally's dimension, but for a different company. But Mom - Mary was likely home, looking after her son.

Not that Wally had any intention of meeting her. It would be pointless. Worse than pointless, since she might notice the resemblance, and then what would he say?

That didn't stop him from drawing to a stop in front of the house and staring at it longingly.

Wally jolted in surprise as an achingly familiar voice came from inside. He knew it wasn't really his mother, but…

The voice, and the sound of footsteps, were coming closer, and Wally realized suddenly that Mary was heading for the door. He panicked, torn between wanting to see a familiar face and the knowledge that it was a terrible idea.

As the front door opened, Wally froze. To his surprise, it was a boy that rushed out. Waving to his mother, he didn't look ahead and crashed straight into Wally.

Both of them tumbled to the sidewalk, the boy's backpack coming open and spilling its contents around them.

"Sorry!" the boy squeaked. His eyes caught Wally's and the two stared at each other in shock.

The boy's eyes were blue. Not quite Dick's or Conner's piercing color, but still different from Wally's own green.

He was about twelve, Wally guessed.

But that made no sense. Who was this kid? He looked almost identical to Wally at that age, but Wally himself would have been only four. So would that make this boy… his alternate dimension older brother?

"Walter!" Mary called out, taking a step out of the house. Wally looked away quickly, not wanting her to see his face.

"I… I'm okay, Mom!" Walter replied, finally looking away from Wally, who had begun to gather up the boy's things. "Thanks, mister."

"No problem," Wally mumbled, pressing the books and papers into the boy's hands. Glancing at them, he could see they were mostly science texts, the sorts of things Wally had read at that age.

One thing was completely out of place - a comic book. Turning it over, Wally stared at the cover. "Justice Guild of America," he read aloud, his brow furrowing. He'd never heard of it. The ensemble of heroes on the cover made him think of the Justice Society, the precursor of the League.

"Careful!" Walter exclaimed, snatching it from his hands. "It's out of print!"

He scowled at Wally, showing clearly the sort of brat Wally had been as a teenager (and maybe still was, a bit).

"Walter!" his mother berated him from the doorstep, but she seemed no longer worried, only shaking her head at the boy. She waved to him as he stuffed his books into his backpack, then headed back into the house. It took all of Wally's willpower not to stare after her longingly.

Younger or not, she looked just like his mother.

"Hey, mister," the boy said suddenly, his blue eyes again boring into Wally. "Are you…?"

"Sorry, gotta go!" Wally exclaimed, turning sharply and hurrying away - but carefully keeping to a human speed. He suspected the boy had noticed the resemblance between them, which was frankly uncanny, despite the almost decade of age difference. It was Twilight Zone eerie.

"Hey!" the kid exclaimed and, to Wally's consternation, chased after him. Knowing himself, Wally suspect it just out of an instinctive need to be contrary.

Fortunately, even at a snail-slow normal human pace, Wally had the advantage of far longer legs. He pulled ahead easily. Rounding a corner, he quickly checked to make sure there was no one watching and finally, finally broke into a speedster's run.

He didn't realize the boy he'd been running from had quickly cut across the corner house's yard and tumbled out just behind Wally. With wide blue eyes, Walter stared at the momentary afterimage Wally had left behind.

"…Like the Streak…" the boy muttered, clutching his comic book closer.

/ / / /

Notes: Okay, now I'm just making things up. I admit it. Thanks for all your reviews!

/ / / /


	3. Endgame, part 3

/ / / / /

**Title:** Better Late

**Summary:** In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.

/ / / / /

CENTRAL-KEYSTONE AREA  
AUGUST 21, 1999

Wally wandered aimlessly.

He hadn't really expected anything from visiting this dimension's version of his family, but it still felt like his last lead had fallen through. He had no idea what to do now, how to even approach trying to get back.

He had only skimmed the archives in the library, but the impression he got was that superheroes just weren't a thing in this world. Superman existed, but he had only appeared not too long ago. There were rumors of Batman, but… well, to be honest, Wally shuddered to imagine the Dark Knight's reaction if he just showed up at the Wayne manor and asked for help.

And Batman wasn't all powerful. Why would he know about something like alternate dimensions?

There was only one thing Wally could think of, and it was a slim, almost nonexistent chance at best, but…

It didn't take him long to find a comic book store.

A bell above the door rang as Wally stepped inside the small shop. The shopkeeper, an older portly man, dragged his eyes away from a small television and toward his new customer.

Taking in Wally's slightly lost look, he asked, "What're you looking for, son?"

"The Justice So- I mean, the Justice Guild," Wally corrected himself, almost giving the more familiar name. "Yeah! It's for my cousin. He's a huge fan of superheroes, especially the, uh, fast one!" Wally continued, throwing the last part in there and hoping there was some character that fit the description.

"Superheroes?" the shopkeeper repeated, stroking his mustache in thought. "The fast one… You mean the Streak. He's the one in red, runs at supersonic speeds."

"That's right," Wally agreed.

"You're a bit out of luck," the shopkeeper told him with a wry smile. "The Justice Guild's been out of print for decades. The only copies you can find now are collector's items. They're not exactly cheap."

"Right," Wally muttered. "So, uh, the Justice Guild, it's a team of superheroes, right? Like that guy from Metropolis, Superman?" As the shopkeeper nodded, Wally asked, "So was the Justice Guild based on guys in real life too?"

It had only occurred to him a little while after meeting the boy, Walter, but in his world, there had been comics made about the Justice Society. Barry had been quite proud of his Flash comic collection, which Jay had even signed with good humor.

Maybe, if this Justice Guild really existed, Wally could ask them for help, even if none of them were heroes he recognized…

The shopkeeper burst out laughing.

"The Justice Guild, real! That's a good one!" He slapped Wally heartily on the back, shaking his head in mirth. Wally hung his head, trying to hide the completely pointless and expected flood of disappointment. He knew this was going to be the outcome, more or less, but he had still hoped that, maybe...

The shopkeeper turned back to the small television sitting on the counter. As he watched whatever was on the screen, his expression darkened. "But I guess I can see why you'd ask, with the kind of freaks we've got running around," he muttered.

Leaning over the counter, Wally peered at the TV. An urgent news bulletin was on the screen, showing what looked like a bank, though not one Wally recognized. The scrolling text announced that the place had been taken over by an unknown assailant with strange technology. There were reports of hostages inside.

As he watched, Wally's eyes narrowed.

This had always been the hardest part of his "retirement" - seeing the crimes, watching about them on TV, reading about them on the net, but not doing anything. Just… looking away and continuing on with his life.

At least in his dimension, Wally had been able to comfort himself with the knowledge that there were other, far more skilled and powerful heroes out there. They would protect everyone, far better than he could.

But… here, there wasn't another hero. There was no one to protect the city.

Before even realized what he was doing, Wally was moving out onto the street. His mind was made up.

He might not have been the Flash. He might be too slow. But in this dimension, he was the Fastest Man Alive. And that came with a certain responsibility.

For as long as he was here, he would carry on the Flash's legacy.

/ / / /

CENTRAL BANK  
AUGUST 21, 1999

The tied up suspects were just as perplexed as the police officers they had been deposited in front of. One moment, all of them had been involved in a tense standoff, then - a yellow and red blur, and suddenly the crisis was over.

One sharp-eyed officer spotted the same blur, dashing back into the bank. Raising his sidearm, he aimed for the entrance, assuming correctly that the mystery interloper would exit the same way.

"Freeze!" he yelled, the instance there was a hint of movement in the bank.

To his surprise, the intruder did just that. A young man, dressed in bright yellow and red, stopped abruptly in the bank's doorway. In his arms was one of the hostages, a young clerk with drying tears on her face.

The young man's green eyes met the cop's gaze, as if asking, "Are you really going to shoot?" Without waiting for the next order, he gently set the clerk back on her feet and gave her a smile.

In the moment the young woman began to stumble away, toward the police barricade, and all eyes were on her, the young man vanished from sight again. He reappeared with another hostage, setting this one - a greying older man - down as well, then repeating the process.

The first hostage freed made her way to the police, grabbing one of the officers by the arm and forcing his gun down.

"He saved us!" she explained, overjoyed and almost disbelieving. "He just appeared all of a sudden and knocked out all the thugs!"

"Besides, you wouldn't be able to hit him with a bullet anyway," the older man added cynically, coming up behind her. "He's too fast."

Other hostages had begun to make their own way out of the bank. The mysterious masked man brought up behind them, helping a grandmother down the steps. The old woman shook his hands with surprising energy.

"How noble of you! Good to see there are still nice young men like you these days," she told him, still holding tightly onto his hands.

"Of course!" he declared, puffing out his chest. "'Cause I'm the Flash's-" He cut himself off, almost as if stumbling over his words.

"Hm? Flasher?" the old woman repeated, leaning a little. "How indecent!"

"Not like that!" he protested. "The Flash! The Fastest Man Alive!"

/ / / / /

EDIT 4/4/13: Now there's another scene, though still no action. Coming next, timeskips into the JL/U timeline proper.

/ / / / /


	4. Speed Demons

/ / / / /

**Title:** Better Late

**Summary:** In Endgame, Wally accidentally transports himself a universe or four over, into a world where there is no Flash or Justice League. At least, not yet.

/ / / / /

CENTRAL CITY  
JANUARY 11, 2000

"Flash! Flash!"

"You did it!"

"Another crime foiled! Any comments, Flash?"

Wally grinned and waved to the crowd of reporters, even as he surreptitiously kept track of the police as they herded away the detained would-be criminals. He made sure to very openly and noticeably thank one of the officers.

Although Wally didn't have Barry's special connection and understanding with the police force, they were at least somewhat starting to warm up to him, in parts. Maybe. Having begun his superhero career after heroes were already an accepted part of life, Wally hadn't quite realized how rocky the initial integration was.

To be honest, Wally really wanted to get along with Central Police Department, if only because they were the only ones he could hope to have his back.

So in an effort to seem less like a glory hog (and knowing somewhat sheepishly his tendency to soak up the spotlight), Wally had actually been trying to avoid the press. Well, by his standards. He showed up when a supervillain needed to be taken down, or randomly helped out across the city, but no interviews, press conferences or even any more posing for the camera than necessary.

It felt really weird.

So on this fine day, Wally had been planning on disappearing as soon as he was sure the police had everything well in hand. But as he turned to go, one painfully familiar face in the crowd made him stop short.

Noticing he had turned her way, the young woman elbowed her way forward with a true reporter's determination.

"Iris West, from Central University's Student Bulletin!" she introduced herself, yelling over the other reporters' questions.

At least Iris seemed to be about the same in this dimension, even if it was weird to think that she was actually younger than Wally now. She would be just a freshman, but she was apparently already set on becoming an intrepid reporter. …Including interviewing the biggest source of news in the entire Central-Keystone area.

As Wally panicked, wildly but internally, the reporters began to notice his fixed attention on Iris. Thinking he might finally give them something more to work with, they grew quiet and attentive and parted like the Red Sea between him and Iris.

Suddenly, Wally had a very bad feeling about this.

"It's been almost five months since you first appeared in Central," Iris began, "and I think everyone has been wondering - why our city?"

"It's my hometown," Wally blurted out automatically, his mouth once again reacting faster than his brain.

Iris's eyes narrowed. "But according to eyewitnesses from your first appearance, you said you came here looking for your family," she said.

It took Wally a moment to realize what she was referring to. 'How did she manage to hunt down that couple?!' he wondered.

He laughed, a little nervously. There was absolutely no way he was going to say he was actually from an alternate dimension. Nothing good could possibly come of that. But he also wasn't a good liar.

And to his alternate dimension aunt at that, his not-quite family… Suddenly, he had an idea.

Wally remembered Bart, and his "tourist from the future" façade. The kid had smiled and dodged all questions so neatly few people realized he was playing them. Sure, he had used the protecting-the-timeline excuse, but Wally could use his secret identity the same way.

Right, Wally thought, he could do this. He just needed to smile and redirect.

"Hey, Central's my home now!" he declared, giving the entire crowd his best smile. "I'm not gonna let anyone get away with messing with my city! And you know why? 'Cause I'm the Flash!"

Here, he smirked, posing the way he'd loved doing at as teenager. It felt easy to slip back into the same overacting routine. Wally had actually kind of enjoyed getting back in the hero business. He had always loved it, for all that the painful loses had started to get to him. It also helped, to feel like he was actually accomplishing something, even as he continually failed to find anything that had even the slightest possibility of getting him home.

"But just who is 'the Flash?'" Iris insisted, changing tracks. "Why the mask?"

That question honestly threw Wally. In his dimension, it was long since accepted that secret IDs were just a thing. Reporters didn't even bother asking, most of the time. If a hero wanted their identity known, they would just not bother with a mask, like the first Flash, Jay Garrick.

"You're real interested in me, aren't you? I know I'm fascinating, but I'm afraid I can't tell even you," he said, refusing to let his smirk falter, though it twitched a little when he realized how much like a come-on that sounded. Oh, ew…

"You expect you keep your identity secret?" Iris continued. "There can't be that many redheaded young men that fit your general body type, especially those who moved into the area recently."

Wally laughed, hoping it didn't sound fake. Uncle Barry had warned him that the hair was a bit too distinctive. Of all the times to have it come back to bite him.

"What makes you think I'm really a redhead? Personal bias?" he asked. "I just really like red!" Uncle Barry had actually suggested he dye his hair brown when he was wearing the Kid Flash suit. It was too late for that, but he'd just have to turn it around.

Iris looked annoyingly unconvinced, but Wally almost breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to back off a little. "Oh, is that why you changed outfits?" she joked, though her eyes were still a little too calculating for his peace of mind.

"That's right! The red ones go faster!" Wally agreed. "And I'm the Fastest Man Alive!"

"Are you sure about that?" Iris asked, finally starting to loosen up. There was a teasing twinkle in her eye that made Wally's heart ache a little. "I heard Metropolis's Superman is faster than a speeding bullet. Maybe he's the fastest one."

Wally made a kind of chocking sound. He didn't have to fake his disbelief that she would even suggest that. Everyone knew that the Flash was faster than Superman! He wouldn't let anyone, not even Aunt Iris, malign the Flash's standing like that!

"I'll prove it!" he declared hotly. "Just you watch! We'll have a race! I'm gonna spoil it for you now: I'm not gonna lose!"

A storm of camera flashes blinded him for a moment, and Wally suddenly realized what he had just gotten himself into. He had just agreed, no, declared a challenge, to Superman. Superman! Sure, Wally could beat Conner no problem, but Superman? He was so screwed.

But Wally refused to back down now. This was the Flash's reputation on the line. And, well, it wasn't like he'd challenged Superman to a fight. This was a race, his forte. Uncle Barry had held plenty of charity races with Superman in past, and Wally knew that Barry had never gone anywhere near his top speed.

Even Wally, who was so much slower, should be able to eke out a draw.

He nodded to himself.

"That's right!" Wally repeated. "We'll have a race to determine the Fastest Man Alive! The proceeds can go to charity, to… hm, what's a good place?"

Iris blinked in surprise as he turned to ask. "Ah, the Central City Orphanage?" she suggested.

"Right! So half can go to the Central City Orphanage, and half to any place Superman chooses!" Wally turned to smirk into one of the cameras. "You hear that, Supes? You better come! Unless you're too scared, that is!"

What had he just gotten himself into?

It would take a while for everything to be organized, Wally knew. But now that he'd made the challenge, there was no backing out. Having gotten more than they had ever hoped for, the reporters began to wrap up their pieces and disperse. Only Iris hung back.

"I was wondering if you would mind sighing something for me," she said. "It's for my nephew. It's his birthday today."

"Huh? Sure," Wally agreed. He'd given many, many autographs over his superhero career, though this would be the first time he'd be leaving off "Kid".

To his surprise, Iris held out a familiar comic book.

"Aren't these out of print?" Wally wondered. "He might get mad."

The look Iris was giving him scared Wally a little. It was as if he kept failing some test… or maybe coming up positive for something.

"It's fine," she told him. "My nephew is a huge fan of the Streak. That's the red one that goes really fast." She was definitely teasing him now. Or maybe played with her metaphorical prey. Wally wasn't quite sure. "He's becoming quite a fan of the Flash too."

"Uh, right," Wally mumbled and quickly took the comic book and pen. What would you even write to a kid who seems to be an alternate dimension you? Trying to get it over with, Wally scribbled a quick message and autograph.

Iris accepted the comic back easily. When she glanced over the newly-added writing, she got that look again.

Turning to go, she said, "By the way, my nephew's name is Walter."

'Well, yeah, that's what I wrote,' Wally thought, before the double meaning caught up to him. He did write "Walter", despite Iris never mentioning her nephew's name. Suddenly, Wally had the sinking feeling that the kid had blabbed everything about their meeting to her.

At least she wasn't Lois Lane, Wally comforted himself. Now there was a terrifying woman. Very hot, though.

/ / / / /

Notes: Flash is such an ass in Speed Demons, the Superman episode where they race to determine the Fastest Man Alive. It's kinda hilarious. Superman's exasperation is pretty funny too. _"Shut up and run," he said gruffly._

I imagine Walter told his aunt that Wally looks like him, but Iris just assumed he meant that Wally had red hair. It's really not as bad as Wally fears, since he doesn't even have a civilian identity in this dimension.

Well, not yet.

/ / / / /


	5. Secret Origins

/ / /

THE WATCHTOWER  
JULY 4, 2001

"Flash," Superman greeted him with a smile.

It was not as weird as it had been.

They'd had their second possibly-annual Fastest Man Alive race not too long before this entire invasion fiasco. It had been fun, and fortunately lacking in supervillain interruptions. It still kind of awed Wally, privately, to think that he was racing _the_ Superman. (Also, that he was clearly winning, even if Wally held back to make sure it was close and a good show.)

So, of course, Wally flipped up his cape and mocked him. Speedsters faced their problems head on, occasionally by running into them.

"Hey, Supes," Wally greeted him easily. "What's up? Well, except us. We're way up there."

"I wanted to thank you," Superman said, easily ignoring Wally's pointless chatter. He was getting good at that. Oddly, Superman didn't really remind Wally of Conner; he was more like Kaldur, before the whole pretending-to-be-a-traitor thing. Though Wally supposed he got annoyed the same way as Conner; Kaldur had always just let it roll off his back…

"For what?" Wally wondered, Superman's comment finally catching up to him.

"For agreeing with me, about the League," he replied. "I thought you would say that you didn't need any help and refuse, but you supported my idea, and that helped everyone else see the sense in it, too."

"Pfft," Wally waved away the idea that he was somehow responsible. The Justice League was a destined thing, even if this one had formed two years early and to fight an entirely different invasion. "Come on, who'd say no to having such a fancy clubhouse? Well, except Batman, but I guess he owns this thing anyway. Maybe he's got four more hidden somewhere too. Seriously, is he made of money or something?"

Bruce Wayne apparently was, and also paranoid, even more so than in Wally's home dimension. The League there had used a retrofitted Green Lantern Corps base station for their Watchtower. Wally supposed that this world didn't have such a long history with the Corps or as much pull.

Superman just smiled. "You were right, you know, about what you said in that interview. No one can do this alone. I should have realized from the start that I could count on you, and the others," he said, and Wally suspected he was thinking the same thing he'd told the Flash the first time they raced: I thought you were just an arrogant show-off, and I still think that, but you might actually be able to pull your weight. Well, that wasn't exactly what Superman had said, but the idea was there.

It made Wally feel… fuzzy.

"Say, where is Bats?" Wally asked quickly, feeling a distinct need to get away or at least change the subject. "Did he already head home to his cave? Or… hold on a second, don't we only have the one jet-thing? Did he leave us up here?!"

"In a hurry to get back?" Superman asked, looking honestly concerned and understanding. "Green Lantern and Hawkgirl already left for a mission in the Ajuris system, but Batman is still here. I'm sure he could pilot the Javelin for you."

"That's okay," Wally said, quickly waving his hands. He could just imagine Batman's reaction to a request like that. And he really wasn't in a hurry at all. "But nice try! Trying to get clues about my secret ID, huh? Here I thought you're just a big blue Boy Scout!" He elbowed Superman, smirking conspiratorially.

Actually, Wally didn't have a secret identity. The few times he'd needed to talk to someone as a civilian, he had just used a false name and fake ID. Setting up an entire life and history would have been just a waste of time. But… it had been a bit lonely. There wasn't a single person in this world who knew his name.

Ignoring Superman's protests that he had been attempting no such thing - of course he hadn't meant that, he really was a Boy Scout - Wally waved and sauntered off.

Something about the way Superman treated him - the way all of them did - was still so strange to Wally. He pondered it as he continued to trek through the mostly-empty Watchtower.

He felt it least, somewhat ironically, with Wonder Woman. Maybe it was because she was the actual rookie of the group, which was its own brand of weird. Wonder Woman had fought in World War II with the original Flash in the All-Star Squadron, the expanded Justice Society. She was, like, 90.

She was so different that Wally just… mentally equated her to Troia instead. And Donna had been a teammate, albeit a very temporary one, and an easy flirting target. Wally could always get behind lame flirting. It made everything so much easier.

She was also the only that didn't get easily exasperated with him. It was probably just her naivety where "man's world" was concerned, but Diana took everything Wally said completely seriously. She went along with all his nonsense, from iced mochas to terrible pickup lines (if only as the straight man).

…She took him seriously.

Maybe that's what it was. Everyone took Wally seriously. Well, not that seriously, but they accepted him as a fellow hero.

Wally hadn't quite understood what Roy meant about being treated like a sidekick until then.

The League had given the team real, dangerous missions, but they had been called "junior partners" and, in some way, they had been treated as junior to the real League members.

It was weird to be not just a Leaguer, but a Founding Member. Him, a founding Member. How had that happened? Where was Aquaman? And just what was Hawkgirl's situation? She had just appeared a few months back. He wasn't even sure if she was the same person as Hawkwoman in his home dimension.

Still, all weird differences aside… it was nice to have a team again.

There was, however, one thing Wally needed to deal with, and quickly.

Wally found J'onn J'onzz soon enough, meditating in the command center of the Watchtower. He was in the same pose Wally had seen M'gann take many times - floating cross-legged, both arms spread out.

He hung back, watching the Martian and trying to decide the best way to approach. He would need to either convince J'onn not to read his mind… or beg him not to reveal what he did read. It would depend.

In the nearly two years since Wally had arrived in this dimension, playing ignorant had become second nature. It was, in a lot of ways, pretty easy. All he really needed to do was act even more ridiculous than usual and run his mouth as much as possible. As long as he said the stupidest thing that occurred to him, he wouldn't slip up and mention something he had no way of knowing. It was kind of relaxing really; as long as he got in the right mindset, he didn't need to think at all.

It helped that things were so different that he generally didn't know what was going on at all.

But with a mind-reader, that wouldn't help him much. At least J'onn's telepathic abilities were either weaker or far more honed than M'gann's. It seemed like he wasn't prone to accidentally reading the minds and memories of the people around him, since he hadn't picked up on Wally's shock about the state of Mars and the Martian race.

To think every Martian except J'onn was gone… it made Wally's heart ache. Selfishly, he grieved most for the fact that there was no M'gann in this world.

'I appreciate your sympathy,' J'onn's mental voice resonated suddenly in Wally's mind.

"You know, that's really kind of creepy," Wally muttered, stepping out of the shadows and making his way to the Martian's side. "Pro-tip: people on Earth are pretty touchy about keeping their thoughts private. Lots of stuff we don't want other people to know."

"I see," J'onn said calmly, inclining his head in agreement and apparently bowing to Earth customs. "I will attempt not to infringe upon your privacy. However, you have a very unique mental frequency. It stands out… and it is instinctual for me to communicate through this method."

Wally instantly felt bad. M'gann had eventually confided how lonely it made her feel to be mentally separate from everyone. She had never quite gotten used to being alone in her mind. It was like losing one of her senses, she had explained.

How much worse must it be for J'onn, who was already so alone?

"I'm sorry, about M'arzz," Wally muttered.

J'onn's expression remained unchanged, and Wally wondered what the point of taking a more human-like form was, if he was going to just act like a statue.

"But you know, Earth's not so bad!" Wally continued. "We've got our share of problems, but we've got some pretty cool stuff too! Like those iced mochas. Those are great, you should try some. And maybe some of the Twinkies while you're at it. Oh, and forget the Oreos!"

Wally trailed off as J'onn continued to watch him expressionlessly.

"…What I'm saying is, Supes is right. I hope you can find a new home here," he concluded quietly.

As the Martian finally looked away and resumed his meditation, Wally sighed and began to slink away in defeat.

"Do not worry," J'onn said suddenly, without opening his eyes. "I will not reveal your secrets to anyone. The same is true for the others as well."

They all had a lot of secrets, Wally supposed. Despite "cheating", even Wally didn't know much about this League.

"…And perhaps, you should take your own advice," J'onn added quietly.

His shoulders stiffened for a moment before Wally forced himself to relax. He pointedly didn't glance back and only laughed with false levity.

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'll get another of those iced mocha!" he declared. "Better hurry, or they'll be all gone!"

Zipping out of the room wasn't very subtle, but no one had ever accused Wally of subtlety anyway. He was out of the command center and down the hall in a flash (haha). But his pace slowed as soon as he was out of what he thought was J'onn's likely psychic range. As he passed another view port, Wally paused to look out onto the blue-white world below.

It had been almost two years, and Wally had made no progress in finding a way back. He'd tried everything he could think of, but he hadn't even been able to learn much of anything about alternate dimensions, much less find a way to travel between them.

Even Ray Palmer, the preeminent physicist (whom Wally may or may not have fanboy-ed over), hadn't been able to help Wally. They had tried, Professor Palmer kindly at least pretending to buy Wally's "theoretical" scenario, but they hadn't even gotten past ordinary teleporting, much less the barrier between universes.

Wally had even resorted to shaking info out of Mirror Master, and tried fishing for answers from Batman, the one time they had worked together.

It might… be impossible. He might never get back. How long should he keep looking pointlessly? He was tired, of being disappointed, of being alone, of having no home or identity.

He had a new team, a new city, a new world.

"Make a new home here, huh?" he repeated what Superman had said to J'onn. Maybe, J'onn was right. Maybe… it was time to accept it.

You can't run always looking backwards, Uncle Barry had said. You have to face ahead.

/ / / /


	6. A Better World

/ / /

THE WATCHTOWER  
OCTOBER 28, 2001

"How is she?" Wally asked quietly.

Green Lantern paused, surprised by his subdued demeanor, then smiled reassuringly. "She's already complaining about missing her chance to pound in some Justice Lord skulls."

"Yeah, we sure kicked their butts," Wally agreed, but Green Lantern could tell his smile wasn't nearly as bright as usual.

"With Luthor's help," John pointed out in disgust. He shook his head. "If only I hadn't hesitated, we could have gotten them in that cell."

Wally snorted. "Well, I'm glad you did," he declared. "You know who didn't hesitate? Evil alternate dimension Superman, that's who. You really wanna have something in common with him?"

Which, as far as Wally was concerned, proved that the alternate dimension Flash hadn't been nearly as important as everyone was making him out to be. His death might have been part of what drove the Justice Lords to become tyrannical douchebags, but it was hardly the only or even the major reason.

It never got easier to lose friends and allies, even for superheroes, but it was also a risk they knew they were taking when they put on the cowl, both those who died and those who were left behind. It was painful, but it wouldn't be enough to turn a true hero to the path of dictatorship and willful murder.

But Green Lantern didn't appear reassured by his words. "I can't believe that might be us in the future," he said bitterly. "You hear that Luthor's thinking about politics?" He shook his head.

"No way! Their dimension's totally different," Wally said with false lightness. "They called their super-friends group 'Justice Lords' from the start. Come on, if they chose a name like that, they must've always been secretly evil."

As Green Lantern raised an eyebrow in his direction, clearly questioning how he knew that, Wally could only shrug. "Only thing more awkward than Batman is crazy alternate dimension Batman," he explained.

Wally's real goal in hanging around Lord Batman so much had actually been to get a glimpse of his dimension travel machine. But to make sure that the other man didn't get too suspicious, Wally had hammered the man's one weak point. Namely, he had kept up a steady stream of questions about the Lords, their past, their Flash, and how they had ended up the way they had. Just thinking about those events made Lord Batman uncomfortable and brooding, and hopefully distracted him.

It was cruel of Wally, to be honest, and made him feel like a sleaze.

But he had been desperate enough to try almost anything. After more than two years, he had finally been able to cross to another dimension. He finally had his first real lead on getting back.

Too bad it turned out to be useless. Not only was the machine left behind in the other world, but it wouldn't have been able to take him back anyway. It couldn't be recalibrated. He had even tried asking crazy alternate Batman about it directly. The machine had only ever been able to see into and connect to one dimension - theirs.

Wally had an unfortunate suspicion as to why that was.

"Come on, Hotshot," Green Lantern said, drawing Wally out of his musings, "buck up. Hawkgirl's a tough one. She'll be up in no time." Putting his hand on Wally's shoulder, he squeezed firmly.

"Right!" Wally beamed at him, forcing away his heavier thoughts. "It's not gonna be long before she starts threatening to beat us all up if we don't let her out of the med-bay, so we better enjoy the peace and quiet, huh?"

"That's rich coming from you," John told him with a smirk.

/ / /

As Green Lantern departed, Wally made his way to the room Hawkgirl had been placed in. From within, he could hear the steady beeping of medical equipment, and for a moment, he hesitated outside.

"Just come in already!" his teammate's irritated voice called out.

Sheepishly, Wally crept inside, eyes darting over Hawkgirl's prone form. She definitely looked better, the color returning to her skin and an annoyed expression on her face.

"Don't give me that look," she said snappily. "As if something like that could keep a true warrior down. I'll be up in time for the next mission."

Wally beamed at her, though he honestly doubted she would be allowed back on the field so soon. "Too bad, I was going to give you Granny Flash's special chicken soup!" he declared, not at all disappointed. Joan Garrick's soup was unmatched, of course, but Wally wasn't that great a cook. Being what Ar- his team had semi-affectionately called a human garbage disposal meant that he often lacked the motivation and the patience to produce food suited to the general palate.

"Oh wait, can Thanagarians eat chicken? Or would that be like cannibalism?" he continued, rocking back on his heels and pretending to be thoughtful.

Even behind her mask, Wally could see her make an annoyed face. "You did not just compare me to a chicken," she said in a threatening tone. "Right?"

"Of course not!" Wally hurriedly reassured her. "Just, what do you guys on Thanagar eat when you're feeling down? Comfort food always makes me feel better!"

"Oh, we…" Hawkgirl trailed off, shrugging. "Thanagar is… well, we don't believe in luxuries." She looked pensive. The mention of her home world must have saddened her, despite her tough exterior.

"Spartan way, huh?" Wally said. "I guess I've been remiss. I'll have to include you in my list!"

"List?" Hawkgirl repeated, looking both annoyed and faintly worried.

"Of people to show off Earth's greatest hits to!" Wally explained, gesturing grandly. "So far, I've succeeded in introducing Diana to iced mochas and J'onn to Oreos and Brawlin' Bots. Next on the list is… hot dogs." He'd just decided that off the top of his head.

Hawkgirl chuckled, almost involuntarily. "What a success," she said sarcastically, but with fondness in her voice. "I suppose Earth has its charm," she admitted after a moment.

"But there's no place like home, right?" Wally finished. "Do you… miss your world?"

Wally felt like slapping himself as Hawkgirl stared at him, wide-eyed in surprise.

"…Right, dumb question," he muttered. "I mean, who wouldn't miss their home if they suddenly ended somewhere completely different? It's just… are you really okay not looking for a way back?"

She looked away, her shoulders drooping, and Wally felt like even more of an ass. He was just projecting his own insecurities on her, he realized. Didn't he miss his home dimension? Had he given up looking for a way back too soon?

Was it alright… for him to make a new home here?

After the Justice League was formed, Wally finally created a civilian identity for himself. The first time he could introduce himself as "Wally West" again was almost too much. He had rented an apartment and gotten a part time job. He had even gone back to school, transferring to a local university after faking some community college transcripts.

He had a life here now, but now he wondered if that was just a sign that he had given up on getting back. Didn't he have a responsibility to his family and friends to keep on searching?

What was he doing…?

"Of course I miss home," Shayera said quietly, startling Wally out of his thoughts. She still hadn't turned back to face him. "But I'm not the type for regrets or doubts. While I'm here, I'm going to make the most of my time with the League. And… I will always treasure the memories we share. No matter what."

Wally let the tension slide out of his body. What was he doing? He wasn't the type to regret either. Maybe someday he would find a way back. But for now, all he could do was live the life he had.

What other choice was there? Become obsessed and single-minded in pursuit of something always just out of reach?

He didn't regret being here. He didn't regret being part of the League. He wouldn't regret being happy either.

"Well, we better make some good one!" Wally declared. "You know, there's this great holiday coming up in a few days… Think you'll be up for trip down to the planet by then?"

/ / / /

Notes: There are no words for how awesome A Better World is. There are just no words.

Well, okay, there are actually lots of words.

A Better World creates a lot of questions in terms of timelines and such. The biggest question is, of course, what happened with the Thanagarians. (The characters can't discuss this since they haven't had the invasion yet.) There are two options. One, they tried to invade and were sent packing. Shayera returned to being Hawkgirl, probably after Flash was killed. It's possible, but unlikely. There's a bunch of circumstantial evidence against this.

The other option is that the Thanagarians never invaded. There are a few ways that might have gone. Maybe after Flash was killed, Shayera, in her new Lord mindset, provided false information that made Earth seem like an unattractive target. Maybe the Lords cut some kind of deal with the Thanagarians. We know very little about the Thanagar-Gordanian war, so it's hard to speculate what that would entail.

Having rewatched this episode, I'm feeling pretty excited about Injustice: Gods Among Us, though of course I'm sad that we won't have any Wally in that, only Barry as the Flash.

/ / / /


	7. Starcrossed

/ / /

WAYNE MANOR  
FEBRUARY 12, 2002

This was the time of reckoning.

He had known what was coming the moment Batman had told him to stay behind. Hell, he'd known the moment Batman announced his civilian identity. The cat was out of the bag.

Wally felt too depressed to even fidget or drink the delicious tea that had been provided to him as he waited for Batman to make his appearance and for the interrogation to begin.

He had kind of hoped this wouldn't happen for years to come, or better yet, ever.

It was, interestingly enough, Bruce Wayne who stepped into the sitting room. That was a good sign, Wally supposed. Maybe.

Bruce sat down across from him and casually took a sip of his tea, as if he wasn't about to unleash the Spanish Inquisition on his teammate. Wally admired his poker face - that tea was barely lukewarm.

"I think you know what we need to talk about," Batman said bluntly. "I'm going to give you the chance to explain."

For a moment, Wally honestly considered stalling or outright lying, but Batman's steady truth-detecting gaze quickly dissuaded him. Even just the chance to say his piece was almost more than he'd expected from the ever-paranoid Batman.

"…Right," he said, wilting slightly. "I'm from an alternate dimension."

Better to just get it out, like ripping off a bandage, right?

To his credit, Batman only narrowed his eyes slightly, despite their unfortunate experiences with both alternate dimensions and teammates who were not entirely honest about their origins.

"My original dimension is a lot like this one, but it's pretty different too. There's a Justice League there, and most of the same heroes exist, too. But it was 2016, and lots of the history is completely off…" Wally trailed off, realizing there was no point in saying any of this.

He shook his head. "Well, anyway, we got invaded by these aliens called the Reach. Funny how that happens, huh? Their plans got foiled, but they decided to destroy the Earth to cover up what they did. Their device activated, and to stop it, we needed to siphon off the kinetic energy it was generating. But that energy had to go somewhere, so, well…"

Wally shrugged, though it looked almost like a shudder. "I ended up absorbing it. I thought I would disappear, but I just kept running. When I finally slowed down, I was in Central City. But it wasn't my Central City… I was in this dimension."

Pausing, he snuck a glance at Bruce, but the man was only listening expressionlessly. "I've been looking for a way back, but traveling between dimensions isn't really… common. I couldn't find anything until the whole Justice Lords fiasco, and even then, it wasn't anything I could use."

Wally fell silent, not sure what else to say. Should he explain why he started protecting Central City as the Flash? Should he explain why he joined the League?

For several long moments, Bruce remained silent and deep in thought. "I see," he said finally. "That would explain a lot. Why "Wallace Rudolph West" just suddenly appeared a year ago, the questions you asked me when we first worked together, your particular interest in the Justice Lords… if what you're saying is true."

"I'm telling the truth!" Wally protested. "I just… didn't mention it before. It's not like I could just come up to everyone and say, hey, you know, I'm not actually from this Earth."

Bruce nodded slowly, apparently willing to let it go… for now, in any case. Wally had no doubt that he had filed the information away for later consideration.

"…I take it you haven't been successful in finding a way back," Bruce said finally. "Was the Justice Lords' machine defective?"

"Not exactly," Wally said, grimacing. He should have known Batman noticed him poking around in it. "It only worked between our two dimensions. It's because our dimension and the Lords' world are parallel in the true sense: they used to be the same world that split into two branches because of a single event."

"That event would have had to take place before our League was formed," Bruce commented. "They did not become a single group until 2003, and even then, they went be a different name."

Wally nodded. Batman was really just too perceptive.

He looked away uncomfortably. "I think… this branching timeline was created because I came here," he admitted. "I don't think… I exist in the Justice Lords' dimension."

Lord Batman had been surprised when Wally let slip that he had been the Flash for years before the League was formed. The look he had given Wally had all but confirmed what he already suspected. The Flash in the Lords' world wasn't him. It was…

He could see the same thought occur to Bruce. "Then, their Flash was…"

Both he and Bruce knew it was unlikely to be some stranger. Judging by Justice Lord Batman's reaction, Wally at the very least acted the same as the other Flash.

"…There is a me in this dimension," Wally admitted. "His name is Walter West. But he's not exactly the same. He's just a kid. I guess he's about fourteen right now. Maybe fifteen. Anyway, he doesn't have any powers."

And Wally couldn't see how he would even get them. Normal kids didn't exactly decide to douse themselves in chemicals and get blown up. You needed inspiration for that.

In a sudden flash of intuition, Wally wondered how the Streak, so like the first Flash, had gotten his powers in that comic book Walter liked so much.

"That means he would have been sixteen in 2003," Batman noted. "I suppose with the suit it would have been hard to tell exactly. Then, in 2005, he would have been…" He trailed off, his expression pensive. He looked as if he had realized something unfortunate.

"2005?" Wally repeated.

"Luthor was elected President in the 2004," Bruce said, as if that was some kind of explanation. "He was in office for less than a year." His tone was grim.

It took Wally a moment to realize that Batman meant that Luthor had been President for less than a year before Justice Lord Superman killed him… because Luthor had executed the Flash.

A heavy, uncomfortable silence fell between them.

It didn't take long for Wally to crack.

"So, Bats, what are we gonna do? As the League, I mean," he said quickly. "I know we're gonna rebuild, but how? We don't even have a clubhouse anymore."

Bruce didn't look pleased at having his company's no doubt astronomically expensive space station referred to as a clubhouse, but he replied without comment. "The League will use the Metro Tower as our base until a new Watchtower can be constructed."

Our base. He had really come a long way from refusing to join the League, Wally thought with a smile.

"We're considering incorporating some technology we acquired from the Thanagarians," Bruce continued. "We think we can at least get the teleporters to work."

"Teleporters? Really?" Wally said. "That would be so cool. And convenient! I really kind of missed zeta-tubes. I can get anywhere on Earth in a flash, but going to space is a whole other thing. It's so annoying always having to bum a ride from someone."

"Zeta-tube?" Bruce repeated.

"Yeah, they were this thing back home. They form a tunnel between two places that both have zeta-tubes installed, and you can travel between the two ends almost instantaneously," Wally explained. "The League used them for getting around."

Bruce nodded, listening intently, but with a strange expression that Wally couldn't even begin to decipher. To be honest, he didn't try too hard. He had been holding in all these things about his home dimension, and now that someone knew - for sure, not the unspoken maybe-understanding he had with J'onn - they just came rushing out.

"I guess we don't have them here because they're based on Martian technology," Wally continued, his expression saddening for a moment. "Back home, M'arzz is still alive. One of my teammates was from there, actually. I used to have the biggest crush on her, but she always liked another teammate of ours. Of course, my girlfriend was a teammate, too. I guess it's true, what they say about the strongest bonds being forged in fire." Wally laughed, remembering suddenly Kent Nelson's words so long ago.

Bruce's expression looked almost pained, and Wally supposed he didn't really want to hear about that kind of teenage nonsense. Batman was certainly too professional to get involved with a teammate.

"Sound like that League had a very different roster," Bruce prompted.

Wally blinked in surprise. "Not really. I mean, it was much bigger, but that was because it had been around for more than a decade. When they started out, they only had seven founding members, too." Wally paused, realizing suddenly what Bruce had meant. "I… uh, I wasn't part of the League. I was on a covert team composed of younger heroes. We didn't want to be just sidekicks anymore, so the League created our team to let us get experience working together."

"A covert team?" Bruce repeated, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. As Wally sputtered protests, Bruce looked thoughtful. "Creating a team of younger heroes might actually be a good idea…"

Something about his demeanor was very familiar to Wally, who had seen it in another crime-fighting millionaire. "Did Robin declare he didn't want to be a sidekick anymore and run off?" Wally wondered.

The look Batman gave him was shocking in its eloquence.

Wally couldn't help but laugh. Some things really were the same across dimensions. Too bad Robin didn't have a hat to throw.

/ / /

Notes: At least we've got that out of the way, and now Bats knows (some) of Wally's secrets.

Walter is generally very similar to Wally (I'm not sure I'll ever get around to writing him properly, so take my word for it), and he had very similar relations with the Lords. Him being younger is off-set by him being more serious than Wally, and having fewer complexes. Since he's the only Flash ever, Walter never compared himself to anyone else and never tried to measure up to impossible standards.

I actually made a timeline mistake that I'm not gonna fix. In Starcrossed, Shayera says that she's been on Earth for five years, but in this story is seems to be only three. Oh well.

But hey, next chapter? We're going to twist continuity into a pretzel. When you're welding shows together, you might as well go for broke.

/ / /


	8. Lightspeed

/ / /

CENTRAL CITY  
JANUARY 12, 2003

There was a saying for situations like this. Something like, may you be saddled with brats that are just as terrible as you were as a child.

Karma. History repeating itself. The cycle of life.

Whatever you want to call it, it involved Wally finding himself in a scarily familiar situation - in a hospital room, with a kid bedbound after he nearly blew himself up by mixing chemicals and lightning.

Except that now Wally was on the other side of the situation.

Whether because he had lucked out with his experiment composition or because his genes were better suited to it, Walter's success was obvious from the start. Not even a day later, and all of his injuries were already healed.

His superspeed had manifested easily, which was what made Iris hunt down the Flash and demand he come to see her nephew.

The two of them had been studying each other in silence for a long time. Walter had remained amazingly patient, especially consider how Wally had been at that age, but now he was finally starting to fidget.

"If you keep vibrating like that, you'll set the bed on fire," Wally told him, finally breaking the silence.

Walter's smile was sheepish, but also somehow entirely too satisfied. It almost made Wally think he had been doing it on purpose.

"What were you trying to do, kid?" Wally asked, frowning. "A hospital stay seems like a pretty lousy sweet sixteen present."

"I don't know, the nurses here are pretty nice," Walter returned, smirking. Again, Wally felt that unsettling sensation of speaking to a mirror and having his reflection answer back.

"Besides," Walter continued, "it was totally worth it." Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up. There was a white blur, and suddenly he was standing on the opposite side of the room. But Walter had overestimated his still-recovering strength, and as he drew to a sharp stop, his legs gave out from under him.

Wally caught him before he hit the ground.

"Just because you have powers doesn't mean you can use them right," he told the kid, dropping him back on the bed. "And I don't have time to teach you. I need to help work on the Watchtower, and we've been having reports of those Gordonians maybe showing up…"

…He sounded just like Uncle Barry, Wally realized. He groaned, putting a hand to his head. Karma, irony, history repeating itself, whatever.

Unlike the twelve-year-old Wally, Walter looked largely unconcerned. "Okay," he said simply. "I'll figure it out on my own. You did, right?"

"I regret ever giving that interview," Wally grit out. He had never quite shaken that horrible habit of letting Iris ask questions and then answering them, even if he generally fudged the truth one way or another. For her question of how he'd gotten his powers, he'd given her Jay's origin story - completely accidental lightning strike into a completely incidental array of chemicals.

How, precisely, Walter managed to determine the formula out of that, Wally didn't know, and didn't really want to know.

Of course, the upshot of giving Jay's story as his own was that Wally couldn't very well admit to learning all his tricks from the second Flash.

"Don't worry, I've got the Justice Guild for reference," Walter said, grinning as he patted the stack of comic books on his bedside table. "They actually explain how the Streak used his moves really well."

Wally stared at him, his brows furrowing in bewilderment. Until now, he had always thought that Walter was entirely too like him, not just his face and voice, but his entire demeanor and all his reactions. But suddenly, that changed. This kid… was different from him. They were alike, almost startlingly so, but it was only now that Wally could see how different they really were.

Wally had always wanted to become Kid Flash, the Flash's partner. That had been all he aimed for. Walter… wanted to be a hero in his own right. He would have become the Flash with or without Wally.

That was… Wally looked away.

"You'll still need a uniform," he said instead. "Normal clothes will only take so much. I… think I've got something you can use. And… you can try linking up with the group in Jump City. They're all young heroes too. It's good to be on a team."

"Thanks," Walter said, beaming. "You mind if I use your name?"

Wally twitched, though of course he just meant the Flash.

"Go for it, kid," Wally said. In some ways, he had more right to it that Wally did.

"Kid Flash, Fastest Boy Alive," Walter decided. "Sound good."

/ / / /

Notes: So, I guess Walter is the Kid Flash from animated Teen Titans…? In other words, he's just really chill about this whole heroing thing.

The Gordonians are the race that the Thanagarians were at war with, and also the ones who enslaved Starfire. Investigating one of their ships was what brought the Teen Titans together in the cartoon.

/ / / /


	9. Crisis on Two Earths

/ / /

THE WATCHTOWER II  
NOVEMBER 17, 2003

"So what do you think of the newbies?" Hal Jordan asked, coming up next to Wally.

"Hurgh?" Wally mumbled around the donuts he had been mindlessly chewing on.

Hal snorted. "Nice," he said. "Did anyone tell you that you have a real talent for making people feel better about themselves?"

Swallowing, Wally scowled at him. "Whatever. I was just speechless hearing you talk about newbies, _newbie_."

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited that it's not just me and the founding members anymore," Hal admitted shamelessly. "It was kind of intimidating, being assigned to stand in for Stewart. He's been a Lantern for over a decade. Hard to compare to that."

He didn't add that he had also been expected to take John's position in the League, while the other Lantern was at Oa getting his ring repaired and dealing with his personal situation, and that it had been terribly uncomfortable sitting at a table with five people who had fought together for over a year and a conspicuous empty spot.

The unspoken understanding was that Hal would now be simply another member of the League, instead of a stand in for one of the founders. He was more than alright with that.

"I meant what I said," Hal continued, sounding a little uncomfortable, but determined. "Back when I was first sent here, I could tell no one was exactly thrilled. I wasn't thrilled when you started laughing at me either, but that really broke the tension."

Wally shook his head, biting down laughter that threatened to erupt again. "I wasn't laughing at you," he said. "I was laughing at me, at the kind of idiot I used to be, and I guess still am. I… used to have a friend, who went off to do his own thing. And when someone else stepped in to do the things he used to do, I got mad at her because I thought she was replacing him. It took me ages to come to appreciate her as her own person."

He shrugged embarrassedly. "I was a dumb kid back then. But when you introduced yourself and said the Lantern Corps had sent you, I just had the exact same feeling. I'd even opened my mouth to say something about it, when I realized what I was doing."

Unable to help himself, Wally started to laugh again. It was just somehow hilarious to look back at the way he and Artemis had met. Embarrassing, too.

Hal smiled as well, chuckling a little. "Listen," he said after a moment, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, with what happened with Batman." He shifted uncomfortably as Wally grew quiet. "I get the feeling that you guys have some history between you…"

"…I can't believe he called me slow," Wally muttered, taking another bite out of his donut. "I hate being called slow."

That was an accusation he hadn't heard in a long time now, since there was no other speedster to compare him to. Well, except Kid Flash - Walter - but somehow, Wally couldn't bring himself to feel the same sort of annoyed inadequacy toward the kid, even when he figured out how to vibrate through walls successfully. Maybe because even when he realized that Wally had just coached him through a skill he himself didn't have, Kid Flash had accepted it calmly, like it was no big deal.

Somehow, it never felt like a competition between them.

But having Batman say it like that brought back so many unhappy memories. And again, Wally would have died because he was _too slow_.

…It galled him.

Wally was honestly surprised to find that he didn't feel depressed, so much as he felt pissed. Who was too slow? He was the Fastest Man Alive! He had been the Flash for four years! No matter what anyone said, he'd done pretty well. They were even talking about opening a museum in his honor!

Clearly, Wally needed to step up his game. He'd figured out how to vibrate through walls, hadn't he? Sure, the walls always exploded afterwards, but it was still progress. There were still things he could learn, figure out how to do. His powers, Wally thought, on a roll, let him travel between dimensions!

Feeling suddenly motivated, he nodded to himself. He'd show Batman who was too slow!

Wally realized that somewhere in the middle of his internal rant, he had stood up and begun to vibrate angrily. Hal was looking at him with an expression that was part concern, part "I'm so glad I'm leaving this madhouse soon".

"You know," Hal said carefully, "Batman did that because he was worried about you."

And just like that, Wally felt himself deflate.

Right. The reason Batman had told Wally he was too slow was to make Johnny Quick sacrifice himself instead. And that was… not okay.

"Maybe it's not my place," Hal said, running a hand through his hair, "but I think you two need to talk about it. Don't let the Bat sweep it all under the rug."

"Yeah," Wally agreed. He turned to speed away, only to suddenly turn back to the Green Lantern. Smiling, he held out his hand. "I just want to say, it's been an honor working with you."

"Same," Hal said, smiling as he clasped Wally's hand in his own.

/ / /

It was pretty easy to find Batman. As usual, he was skulking around in the command center, keeping track of a myriad screens at once. Taking one look at Wally, J'onn, who had been assisting Bruce with coordinating the final stages of the Watchtower's construction, quickly set his terminal to auto and glided out of the room.

Batman looked distinctly unimpressed by his teammate's hasty retreat. He clearly knew what was coming.

"We need to talk," Wally declared, crossing his arms, then internally cringed.

Refusing to be at a disadvantage, Batman quickly suspended whatever he had been working on and stood up to loom at his full, impressive height.

"Luthor's transit device is currently at Star Labs," Batman began, taking the initiative. "They have already begun studying it." Meaning that they had already taken it apart. "If you try to travel between dimensions without it, you'll be torn apart by the event horizon."

Wally stared at him for a moment, feeling completely thrown off track. "Why are you brining that up?" he wondered. "I wasn't going to use it anyway. Luthor might have solved the decoherence problem, but he went too far. His device doesn't distinguish between theoretically possible timelines and alternate dimensions that actually exist. I'd never be able to find the dimension I came from, out of the infinite possible scenarios."

"I see," Batman said, after a moment of silence, and even Wally could hear the relief in his voice. It seemed the others had been right - Batman really did worry about him and wouldn't let him try something he didn't think was safe.

Wally sighed, realizing his righteous indignation had been completely ruined.

"What I wanted to tell you is that, now that the League's got some new members to fill out the ranks and you guys are planning on starting the initiative soon, I want to take a break," Wally said. "Focus on Central City for a bit." And also on his own training. He wasn't going to be the weak link, and he wouldn't be left behind.

For a moment, Batman appeared honestly caught off guard. Any sense of accomplishment Wally might have felt at that was ruined by how much it reminded him of Dick's reaction when he announced he was leaving the team.

"It's not like I'm retiring! It's not forever, or anything!" Wally hastened to assure his teammate. "If you guys need me for anything, I'll be just a call away. And I plan to go back on the active roster in a few months. But I just… have to sort some things out."

Batman nodded slowly. "It's your right to do so," he said almost grudgingly. Again, he sounded entirely too much like Nightwing had, back then. "But you need to think this over carefully. Don't make a rash decision. …Your contribution is very important to the League."

Wally felt like he was missing something. The Batman, master of all things severe and critical, had just kind of complimented him. Something definitely wasn't right.

"…Is this about the Justice Lords?" he finally ventured. "I think you're overestimating how much I have to do with that. If you're really worried, then maybe you should make sure one of the new recruits can keep you guys honest."

Batman sighed as if Wally had said something stupid again, but he nodded. "I'll look into it," he promised. With a sweep of his cape, he swept out of the room. It took Wally a moment to realize that Batman had just preemptively ended their conversation.

Wally stared after him in annoyance. "I'm glad we had this talk," he muttered. "What's his problem?"

"Perhaps he does not want you to leave because he will miss you," J'onn suggested, floating in through the floor and making Wally jump a little in surprise.

"Bats, miss me?" Wally repeated disbelievingly. "Pffft. No way!"

J'onn sighed.

/ / /

Notes: In the DCAU, there are several Lanterns. John Stewart is supposed to have been recruited over ten years ago, but assigned to a different sector, since there was already a Lantern assigned to Earth. When Earth's local Lantern died, he passed his ring to Kyle Rayner, during the Superman series, in 1998 or so.

Kyle became the first publicly known Lantern. He went to Oa for training, while John took over Earth's sector. For his part, Hal Jordan is only mentioned when the battle between Kyle Rayner and Sinestro damages his plane. I'm claiming that this brought him to the Corps' attention and he subsequently became a Green Lantern.

Anyway, having pretzel'd together four continuities, I think it's time to bring this Frankenstein's monster to a close. …_But how?_

….I've got nothing! D:


	10. Divided We Fall

/ / /

METROPOLIS  
AUGUST 19, 2004

_"I kill you, and then - Armageddon, right on schedule."_

No. He wouldn't let that happen.

Flash ran. Faster and faster, circling the entire world to build up kinetic energy. This time, he didn't think about whether the fastest he could go would be fast enough. It didn't matter. Every time he crashed past the Braniac-Luthor hybrid, he could feel his own energy ripping away at the unstable bonds between the two entities.

He could feel something building, the same free, floating sensation that had been the prelude of coming to in this world five years ago.

He didn't need to go faster. There wasn't anything to outrun. Instead, Flash kept hold of that energy, containing it within his body even as he stopped in front of Luthor. In an instance, he was atop the melded monstrosity and ripping into it, not with his hands, but with his sheer velocity.

In the chaos of clashing energy, Flash systematically ripped away the thing that shouldn't have been there, inside Luthor's body. But, at the same time, he could feel the same happening to himself - coming apart at the seams.

Even as he moved away to stand beside the once again only human Luthor, he could feel himself… ceasing.

"I feel… kind of funny…" he muttered.

Through the clearing smoke, he could see his friends reaching out for him, the way Uncle Barry had as they circled the Magnetic Field Disruptor. Just like then, it was already too late. No longer able to hold itself together, the energy that had been contained in his body flowed outward, and with it, so did his entire existence.

Flash was no longer there, among the rubble of Metropolis. He wasn't circling the Earth, or anywhere on that planet.

He was running. Even though he wasn't anywhere, he was running, like he had back then. But this time, something held him back. It felt like someone tried to grasp his hand, and although the weak sensation couldn't have stopped him, he hesitated.

Beyond, on the other side of the swirling energy plane he was now part of, was that other Earth. Five years ago, Flash had crossed the stream blindly, crashing through to end up on this side, in this world. Now, he could see where to go. He just needed to run, and he would be home.

But behind him - and all around him, and so far behind in the place he had been - someone was calling him.

"Flash!" a voice he knew called out desperately.

"Shayera?" Flash muttered. He smiled, even though he didn't have a face anymore. Of course, she was worried. "It's so beautiful here. There's a force - a speed force. It's calling me home. I have to go now," he tried to explain.

"No, Wally! Take my hand!"

Take her hand? But he didn't have hands, he didn't have a body, even if he was still running. Except that, in the moment when he thought of it, he did. He reached out the hand he wasn't sure he had… and someone reached back.

Shayera's grip was strong and firm. When she pulled, it was with more strength than even Hawkgirl alone could have mustered.

"I'm here too, Wally!"

"We're all here!"

"You've got to come back to us!"

Others were calling him too. Strange. Where had he been running to? The place where everyone was waiting for him lay behind him. Had he gotten turned around?

It didn't matter. His friends were guiding him home.

/ / /

Notes: Aaaaaargh! I'm throwing up my hands and giving up. Still can't decide whether to include an Earth-16 epilogue.

Despite my best efforts, I feel like my personal feelings had leaked through. Can you feel my bitterness at YJ for the way Wally was portrayed there? Maybe I'm still too raw to be writing about this.

/ / /


End file.
